It Only Took This Long
by coletteidk
Summary: Lucy and Chris fight, and Ian makes one of the biggest decisions of his life. Will Ian finally go after Lucy? Or will she stay with Chris? RPF *-Lucian FanFic, don't read if you don't like the pairing.-*
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, it's Lucy! I guess, uh, I missed you. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Bye!" The automated voice rang through the phone held awkwardly in Ian's large hand. He sighed, running his free hand through his dark locks and biting his lip. This was his third call she'd missed that day. Ian had called Lucy before they went on set, after lunch, and now before he was about to go to bed. He thought of her constantly, and it took everything in him not to call her more. After this, though, he wouldn't call her for a while. If he really loved her, he'd give her the space she needed. Although, Ian hadn't heard from her in a few days and it worried him.

He flopped back onto his bed, sighing as his back hit the mattress. Ian stared at the ceiling, his blue eyes scanning over every inch of the blank surface. From the first day at auditions, he'd loved Lucy. He loved her cascading, dark hair, her bright hazel eyes, her petite stature, and especially her sense of humor along with her laugh. Everything about her intrigued him, and made him want to be close to her both mentally and physically. She made him feel different, like no one else had ever done around him. She made him open up. Filming the intense and passionate scenes with her on set only made his attraction to her grow. He licked his lips, pondering what he should do. His heart ached, almost to the point of physically paining him, when he thought of what she could be doing at the moment. Especially what she could be doing with Chris, her current beau. Ian would do anything for Lucy, anything in the world, yet she still comforted herself in Chris' arms. It made him squirm to think of the two of them together. The more he thought about things and his current situation, the more his face flushed. His normally pale complexion faded to a dark rosy hue, and slight tears began to form on his lower lash line. There were so many things to take into account about his feelings, yet he could not control any of them. There was the sake of the show, Lucy's relationship with Chris, the media, and most importantly Lucy's feelings towards him. He was frustrated, yet still yearned for her at the same time. Yes, their sporatic UStreams and other videos and hangouts were fun, but he still felt that Lucy had no idea what he was feeling. That she had no idea that he was entirely in love with her. That he would give anything in the world to be able to touch her, to be able to share openly the indescribable things he was feeling.

Ian brought the back of his hand to just under his eyes, brushing the dampness away that had collected there. He knew he had to do something, and soon. If he didn't make his grand gesture within a short amount of time, things could go horribly awry in so many ways. Everything came to him in that moment; Ian had a mental outline of what would happen. He quickly arose from his bed, striding over to his closet and tossing on a flannel button-down shirt before shimmying into a nice pair of jeans. He moved in front of the mirror and scanned over his appearance once, exhaling sharply and running a hand through his hair.

His heart beat wildly against his ribcage, adrenaline surging from the pit of his stomach through his entire body. Ian grabbed his car keys and bound out the door of his condo, down the stairs and out of his building.

Ian drummed his slender fingers against the wheel as he drove, impatient with the traffic of Los Angeles. Finally, he reached Lucy's place. He parked the car haphazardly, and almost fell, scrambling out of the door. Quickly, Ian rapped his knuckles three times on her door, sweat starting to form at his brow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Earlier That Day...**

Lucy's fists were held against the wall in Chris' fit of rage. She fought valiantly against him, her tiny frame writhing under his grasp. Her teeth gritted, she whimpered and began to thrust her chest out to try to free herself. Chris only slammed his hands against her wrists on the wall harder, his face flushed a bright scarlet.

"Who were you out with last night," he growled at her, while she started to kick him.

"I was out with Claire and J-Jackson," Lucy spoke, her voice beginning to break. She was beginning to lose her will to fight back, to get him off her. Her attempts became weaker and weaker with each thrust of force.

"You didn't answer my calls all night!" His voice got gradually louder with each word.

"I-I'm s-sorry," she sobbed, finally breaking to tears.

He let go of his tight hold on her wrists and gripped her waist, bringing her away from the wall slightly then throwing her against it. Her head along with the rest of her body collided with the pale wall. She sank down to the floor slowly, her breaths becoming more forced with every jagged inhale. Her sobs flooded the apartment, reverberating off every object. Chris scanned over Lucy another second, then went to go sit on the couch. She remained defenseless on the floor another five minutes, then ten, and finally twenty. She gathered her strength together and shakily stood up from the wooden floor.

Lucy slowly made her way to the bathroom, pushing the door open and closing it behind her as she walked in. The mirror only served to reveal purple patches of skin starting to form and some other faults of the previous events. She ran her finger over the broken skin, the tears starting to well up again.

This is what everything had come to. The relationship she had with him for several months not only quickly escalated to violence in the early weeks, but now was full of pure angst and even possible hatred. The cycle continued every time, this would happen and she'd disappear for a few days, then he'd present some extravagant "proof" of his love and she'd come back. Today, though, with the dark marks and scratches he'd left, it was enough. She wasn't going to put up with this anymore. She could do this; Lucy had a strong support system and enough friends to take care of her. Chris Zylka didn't need to be a part of the equation.

Gathering all of the hate in her heart and all of the terrible memories from the past couple of months, she stormed back into the living room where he was sitting on the couch. Her hazel eyes burned into him, waiting for him to look up from his phone and pay attention to her. She was already breathing heavily, now with more anger than intimidation.

"Chris," she barked, commanding his attention. He looked up, slightly dumbfounded from his phone and gave her a menacing yet quizzical look. "I can't do this anymore. Not with you, not with anyone else. It isn't fair. It isn't fair for me and it isn't fair for anyone else."

Suddenly, when the words 'isn't fair for anyone else' passed her lips, she thought of Ian. Of course, she always thought of him but particularly right now. She thought of him every morning when she woke up, when she went to bed and almost every second in between. In her eyes, she was the most handsome, cute, yet sexy man she'd ever met. Sure, she denied it in the past in interviews, but that was for the sake of the show and of her relationship with Chris. Beyond that, he made her laugh like no one else, and think like no one else, and all around made her a happier person even in her darkest of days. It killed her to have to go home to Chris every night, to see Ian only during work or the occasional event. She wanted to always be with him, to be able to show the humble man how truly wonderful he was. He was funny, and brilliant, and charming and all of it made her smile. While she talked, he was one of the main things behind her statements.

Chris merely stared at her before standing up, almost defiantly. He walked over to her and tipped his head down to meet the petite girl's gaze.

"You can't do this. You can't leave me. That's just not how it goes." His eyes started to get angry again, a look that Lucy knew well.

Lucy's eyes began to dampen once more, yet her gaze never left his.

"Chris, we're done. It's over. You can't do this to me anymore." She shook her head at him, taking a step back from his intensity.

Upon her taking a step back, he took a step forward. "You're not leaving me," Chris snarled, his hands beginning to clench. He took yet another step towards the petite girl, reaching out and then gripping her jaw and face, pressing his lips to hers violently.

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut as he forcibly kissed her, her brows furrowing. Finally breaking herself free of his grasp, she gathered up the frustration that had been brewing in the subconscious of her mind for months, and a blind rage settled over her previous inhibitions. Impulsively, she brought her hand up behind her head, then swung it briskly towards his face. The sound her her palm against his cheek echoed throughout the room, and his jaw almost dropped in shock. She'd never fought back before.

"Fine! We're over, Lucy. We're done. But just know, you'll never find another one like me." He stormed away from her, knocking a few things out of their placement in her apartment as he headed towards the front door. He recklessly threw it open, strode out, then slammed it behind him after he was gone.

Now, the apartment was empty except for Lucy. It felt so strange to her, so foreign. It felt as though her own thoughts were now the only echoing sounds.

For another hour, she lay on her bed, alternating between weak crying and simple numbness to her emotions. Lucy lay with a blank expression, allowing her thoughts to run wild. The only thing she could manage to think about, though, was Ian. Ian, the one she'd been in love with all along. The one who could make her laugh, smile, and make her feel wanted and needed. Everyone had their flaws, including her, but he was perfect _for_ her in a sense.

Lucy had only gotten up momentarily to get herself a bit of food, tears still crowding the area beneath her eyes and mocking her. She had only gotten halfway to the kitchen when she heard frantic and repeated knocking at her door. Her brows furrowed, wondering who, or what it could be. She hadn't ordered anything...but wasn't it late for a delivery anyway? Hesistantly, she shuffled over to the door and swung it open. Her hazel eyes widened as she took in the vision standing on her doorstep.

"I-Ian," she stuttered. "Wha-how...What are you doing here?"


End file.
